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According to this Kotaku piece, this month’s EGM is rumouring that Microsoft is considering allowing third-parties to make hardware that will play Xbox 360 games.
All sounds a bit “Pace” to us. From the mag:
We’ll tell you what’s up with Microsoft: new hardware options. It may sound totally insane — trust us, we did a double-take the first time Qmann whispered it in our ears — but word has it that Microsoft may begin allowing third-party manufacturers to create Xbox 360 hardware. And we’re not talking about peripherals, people; we mean hardware that runs 360 game discs created by someone other than Microsoft.
More through the link.
Viewing 33 responses
Rhythm said:
So someone may make a 360 that doesn’t outdo my vacuum cleaner in the noise stakes?
Blerk said:
I don’t think it’s so far fetched, tbh. Microsoft have proven quite crap at building reliable, top-quality hardware at a price which doesn’t lose them money. Get someone else to take the hit and claim a license fee, then they still get all the license money from the game sales.
They could get people to build 360-compatibility into their Blu-Ray players. OMGMEGATON!
patlike said:
Sega was going to do all this with Dreamcast and Pace set-top boxes, innit. I guess it’s more viable now. It would actually be really cool, I reckon.
Blerk said:
Kotaku’s mock-up is exactly what I want my consoles to look like. Quite why nobody’s caught on to that idea yet, I have no idea.
patlike said:
Yep, agree. And no, I don’t understand either.
morriss said:
Good idea, I think.
Whizzo said:
Sounds like a great idea to me and if this is the surprising news that’s been mentioned for E3 it really is just that.
patlike said:
It’d be genuinely exciting if they announced it and showed new, 360 game-playing hardware at the show.
Blerk said:
There’ve been plenty of rumours flying around about a Blu-Ray add-on, but Microsoft have consistently said they’re not doing one. Maybe *they’re* not doing one, but…
This is my favourite rumour in ages. One step closer to that mythical “one console format, lots of people building it” ideal.
fj said:
Anyone remember the 3D0 card for PC?
patlike said:
I don’t reckon the Blu-ray thing’s true. I won’t believe that until it’s announced, to be honest. The add-on, I mean.
Blerk said:
I remember the Sega Mega-PC.
Edit: Sorry, *Amstrad* Mega-PC.
pjmaybe said:
Make it a PC VM that can play 360 games with no tearing, full v synch and framerates locked and I’ll kiss Bill Gates’ snecky snatch.
SticKboy said:
The re-birth of the 3D0, fingers-crossed.
I wonder if this might be the solution to their hardware problems in Japan?
Quiiick said:
Why does no one here thinks this is bollocks ???
The whole business-model for console hardware is only profitable (if ever) because M$ and Sony can subsidise it with income by game-sales.
How should a third-party make real money off a console hardware ???
Blerk said:
Extra sales of their particular model of Blu-Ray Player/Set-Top Box/Toaster because it includes gaming tech? The ability to produce the hardware cheaper than Microsoft because they’re already electronics giants? Being offered a cut of the software license cash?
I dunno. Why did Panasonic make the Q? There must be *something* in it for the third parties.
Quiiick said:
@ Blerk
Maybe very late into the life-cycle of a console, it is a possibility.
But never in the first 2-3 years after launch!
Blerk said:
The Q launched in the Gamecube’s first year, didn’t it?
Quiiick said:
@ Blerk
I don’t know when the “Q” launched.
But wasn’t the original cube also manufactured by Panasonic?
Plus: I never regarded big N’s hardware as “next-gen” consoles from a technological standpoint. So, you may not compare it with PS3 or the 360.
Psychotext said:
Quiiick: Microsoft is into the stage that they’re making profits on the hardware as well as the software. It’s at that point they can farm it out to other manufacturers who can make profits too (or increase their margins by charging more for something like blu-ray, silent machines, smaller form factor etc).
Blerk said:
Could be an interesting way to try to make in-roads into Japan, too.
Quiiick said:
@ Psychotext
What I heard is that Microsoft are making profits in the “Games/Entertainment/ 360″ Division which includes game-sales, XBL-subscriptions and peripherals.
They’re still loosing money on the 360-hardware alone afaik.
Quiiick said:
@ Blerk
Quote: “Could be an interesting way to try to make in-roads into Japan, too.”
Why would third-party hardware which play 360-games be “a way to make in-roads into Japan” ???
What’s the benefit?
Blerk said:
Well, one of the main reasons that’s always brought up for the Japanese not liking the 360 is that it’s big and noisy. A smaller, quieter machine made by a Japanese manufacturer could potentially be more appealing. Or not. It certainly couldn’t be any less appealing.
Psychotext said:
Quiiick: That division contains all sorts of things outside of gaming so you can’t really look at it from that point of view. Put it this way, the machine has had a $50 price drop since its release in the US nearly 3 years ago… if they aren’t making money on the hardware now something is very, very wrong.
I’m sure isupply have an analysis somewhere but I can’t find it. All I can find is some comment on it:
“When iSuppli tore down an Xbox 360 around this time last year, the firm estimated that Microsoft was losing $126 on each 360 sold. Microsoft is whistling a much happier tune now. Revised component costs for the Xbox 360 indicate that costs have dropped to the point where each $399 Xbox 360 sold costs $323.30 to make—leaving Microsoft $75.70 in the black on each system, before marketing and other costs are figured into the equation.”
Psychotext said:
Found it… it’s in a table half way down the page:
http://www.isuppli.com/news/default.asp?id=6919
Quiiick said:
@ Blerk
Good point!
@ Psychotext
Thanks for the info!
ecu said:
So… Sony could build 360 compatibility in to a future model of the PS3?
Blerk said:
That’d be the £800 model, obviously.
I just thought of a dampener for the ‘Blu-Ray player with 360 compatibility built-in’ idea – how fast do Blu-Ray drives spin DVDs?
Psychotext said:
There’s multiformat BR drives that can handle 6x BR and 16x DVD now.
Blerk said:
Ah! That’ll do nicely, then. I suddenly had a thought that they might only do slow speeds due to DVD movies only needing slow speeds.
Quiiick said:
@ ecu
Quote: “So… Sony could build 360 compatibility in to a future model of the PS3?”
NO! Sony would never want to do that because they would not get any royalties off of 360-games. This would cannibalize their income from game-sales.
Blerk said:
360 Fanboy’s Microsoft Conference Bingo results reminded me that this one turned out to be complete bunk, too. Who starts these rumours? I think we should start some of our own next year.